


The Question Game

by suckaknob



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-25
Updated: 2014-05-25
Packaged: 2018-01-26 10:19:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1684802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/suckaknob/pseuds/suckaknob
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Everyday it was the same, Levi would enter the cafe in the middle of the night, buy his coffee, and sit down in one of the plush chairs in the middle of the sitting area. He would study and nurse his drink until finally it was time for the cafe to close and he'd head home and attempt to sleep.</p>
<p>And it would have been the same except for one kid with disgustingly colored eyes and a knack for being anonying.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Question Game

**Author's Note:**

> Hey. This is nine pages. Woah. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy. The idea might or might not have been inspired by The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen, at least the question game part.

“Question game.”

Startled silver eyes lifted up in confusion, a pair of thin lips twisted in a scowl. Finding that a pair of weirdly colored eyes were staring at him expectantly, Levi crossed his arms in front of him, knowing that the way his tattooed biceps flexed would have intimidated anyone into walking away. Instead those odd eyes continued to stare at him, emotion swirling in their depths like an open book.

A sigh left Levi and his lips parted, causing the barista who was watching him a few feet away to lean forward in anticipation so that his forearms were pressed on top of the counter he stood behind, mouth pulled up in a pleased smile as he assumed what Levi’s answer was going to be. The barista’s hand was dangerously close to knocking off a coffee mug that sat on the counter as a display and Levi glared at the offending object in warning as he turned his attention back to his book, losing interest in the intruder.

“No.”

Levi could practically hear the pout in the kid’s words, not surprised that he was resorting to whining this early in the conversation, “But, Levi, you’re always in here when I’m working and we might as well get to know each other. Please? I have nothing else to do until closing time.”

Without pulling his eyes from the lengthy paragraphs of his English textbook, the college student reached forward to grab his coffee, ignoring the pouting figure that was burning a hole into the side of his face. He was not going to be someone else’s chopped liver of entertainment just because the shit decided to work during the graveyard shift. What café even had a graveyard shift anyways?

As his fingers brushed the warm paper cup, his drink was snatched away and when he looked up incredulously at the offending person, he nearly jumped out of his chair to teach the fucker a lesson. Green eyes swam with determination, lips pressed against each other as the barista and the college student stared each other down.

When the kid started to fidget on the spot he stood on, Levi expelled a sigh, admitting defeat as he held out his hand for his coffee expectantly, too tired from his all-nighter to put up a thorough fight. When a few moments had passed without the warm cup in his hand, metal eyes flashed dangerously towards the smirking barista. Raising an eyebrow like a cocky piece of shit; Eren, whose name he knew only because of the nametag that was clipped haphazardly on the green apron and not because Levi considered Eren a friend, had Levi’s cup of coffee raised over his shoulder in a defensive stance, waiting like a puppy waited for a dog treat- or to be let out to take a shit.

Grumbling under his breath, Levi slouched back against the back of the chair, peeved beyond belief, “Fine. I’ll play your stupid game, now give my coffee back, _Eren_.”

A triumphant smile broke out on Eren’s face and he quickly placed the coffee in front of Levi, flinching away slightly as Levi’s hand snatched the cup and took a sip, eyes swirling dangerously. Lifting his hands up in surrender, Eren took the seat opposite of the glaring college student, bringing his knees to his chest as he settled against the armrest of the chair.

“What if a customer comes in?”

The unconcerned barista shrugged as he crossed his arms in front of him, a tired yawn interrupting him as he looked over at Levi, blinking, “Then I’ll get up and serve them, it’s ten at night, I doubt anyone will come in.”

Unconvinced, Levi picked up his textbook again, resuming where he’d left off as he heard Eren shift in his seat. “Fine.”

A beat of silence and Eren’s voice punctured what would have been productive concentration had his annoyingly high voice not made Levi’s cheek twitch, “What are you reading?”

Sighing loudly as he closed the textbook and placed it in his lap, Levi rubbed the bridge of his nose, succumbing to the reality that Eren wasn’t going to let him read in silence. “English. Is that your first question?”

“W-What?” Eren’s lips parted in shock as he sputtered, nearly falling off the chair in surprise, “No!”

Looking to the side as amusement flashed through him, Levi shook his head and crossed his leg over the other, deciding that he might as well relax if he was going to have to sit with the loud-mouthed shit head. Taking a sip of coffee, he fixed Eren with a hard stare, tone neutral, “You said you wanted to play twenty questions, well you asked a question.”

Eren’s lips formed in a pout, his brows pulled over his weirdly colored eyes as he sat in stubborn silence, fuming silently. Levi’s eyebrows raised, wondering how old the kid in front of him was and finding it odd that he was throwing a hissy fit just because of one question.

“First of all, it’s not twenty questions, just the question game. And second of all, we haven’t agreed on starting yet. All you’ve done so far is glare at me and your textbook.” Startling Levi from his observing, Eren perked up, imaginary dog ears flicking upward in excitement as he gave Levi a Cheshire smile, “How about this? You give me my question back and I’ll help you study. You’re always in here till closing with your nose in a textbook, so why not let me help you?”

Grey eyes narrowed, head tilting to the side as Levi’s bangs fell in front of his face, pondering. Looking up at the ceiling, Levi shrugged and rubbed his chin, “Why not. I’m graduating in two months and exams are going to be twice as hard. I’ll play along for now.”

“Yes! Rules are, you have to answer all of the questions, if you refuse to answer a question then you lose. Deal?”

“Fine, whatever. Just start already.”

Pleased, Eren grinned and tilted his head back against the armrest, humming under his breath as he thought of his first question. Levi readied himself for a long night. “Okay. First question…” Licking his lips, Eren hummed thoughtfully before he seemed to arrive at his mental metro station.

“What’s your full name?”

Levi’s impassive face twitched, the calm mask cracking around the edges as a hard glint shone in Levi’s eyes. Eren almost regretted asking but he had assumed that Levi would ask those kinds of questions right back at him anyways.

“Levi.”

“Wha-?”

“Listen kid, you said I had to answer the questions, not give an explanation for my answers.”

Incredulous eyes stared at Levi, Eren’s lips moving to form soundless words as he fought to comprehend how unbelievable the man before him was, “Have you never played this game before?”

Broad shoulders lifted up in a shrug, thin lips remaining sealed even as Levi answered in his head that _no, it’s kind of hard to play stupid games like this when you don’t have friends._ Instead, the short man looked off to the side, paying attention to a tear on the other chair’s cushion next to him to avoid Eren’s pondering eyes.

It wasn’t like Levi was ashamed of his inexperience.

Eren continued on after a tense moment of silence, his voice soft, “Well, someone asks and the other person answers usually with a background story or a short explanation. That way it’s easier to get to know the other person.”

Levi knew what he had to do. As he parted his lips and took in a short breath to tell Eren that he wanted to skip the question, the door to the coffee shop dinged, a group of girls entering the café loudly and before Levi could get a word out, Eren was up and behind the counter, a relaxed smile on his face. As Eren took the girls’ orders, Levi turned away from the counter, his brow furrowed as he tapped his finger on his thigh as his thoughts became a jumbled mess.

Telling himself that when Eren would come back, he’d tell him that he refused to answer the question and then that’d be it. No more questions. No more Eren. Levi could go back to late nights at the café with a textbook under his nose and the crippling loneliness that he had become so accustomed too.

What he _enjoyed_.

“Ah, sorry about that,” Levi’s thoughts were interrupted as Eren plopped back into his seat, an apologetic smile on his face as he relaxed back against the armrest. Levi could distantly hear the group of girls chatting together at the other end of the café and Levi wished that they would interrupt him and Eren again so he could avoid answering the question.

After staring at Eren’s wide, obnoxiously bright eyes for a couple of minutes, Levi sighed and scratched his cheek, mouth in a thin line, “Look, I’m not a saint so what I tell you isn’t some cookie cutter bullshit. You’re shitting into dangerous territory, kid.”

Instead of caution, like a sane person would feel, Eren’s eyes lit with curiosity, his brows furrowed as he opened his mouth to protest weakly, “I’m not that young, plus it’s not like what I’ll tell you is any better…”

Ignoring the way Eren’s lips formed in a subtle pout, Levi sighed and leaned his head back against the couch, a headache starting to form at his temples as he accepted that he was maybe a little curious as to what the kid meant by that. Or maybe he was more tired than he had originally thought.

“The reason my name is plainly Levi, is because I was emancipated from my parents when I was younger and I was never adopted after being put in an orphanage.”

Hearing rather than seeing the soft gasp of surprise, Levi flicked his gaze to the kid sitting across from him, barely registering his concerned look before looking away. Irritation crawled down his spine as he shifted in his seat, longingly glancing at the café’s door.

God, he fucking hated when people showed him pity for his past. If anything it should have been relief since Levi had gotten away from the poisonous atmosphere that was his past family. He didn’t regret all those months in court with his lawyer. Not if it meant getting away from his parents.

“I-I’m sorry.”

Levi scoffed as he turned to glare at Eren, face in a scowl, “You’re sorry? Eren that’s the last thing I want to hear, I’m an adult now and I’m glad I left my family behind. I told you, I’m not a saint so if this is heartbreaking for you then we should stop this little ga-.”

“Oh shut up with your cliché teenage angst montage. I was just trying to be nice, maybe I understand how you’re feeling because maybe I’ve been in that situation and instead of letting your pride get in the way you should accept the sentiment. Especially since it’s good natured,” Eren crossed his arms over his chest, expression indignant as he boldly held Levi’s startled gaze with a pointed one.

Licking his lips as he realized that Eren was right, Levi quickly changed the subject, “How old are you?”

Seeming to sense Levi’s preference to change the subject, Eren relaxed his tense muscles and leaned his elbows on the table in front of them, “Out of all the questions, you choose that one?

After a moment of silence of Levi and Eren staring at each other, Eren sighed and raised his shoulders, eyebrows drawn low over his eyes, “I’m nineteen.” The brunette paused, thinking over his next question, “Since you asked, I’ll ask you. How old are you?”

Levi let out a loud sigh, making Eren raise his eyebrows in surprise at the sudden noise. Adding off-handedly in a low voice, “I have half a mind to be offended, you know,” as he waits for Levi to answer the question.

Rolling his eyes, Levi waved a hand dismissively, “That’s the point, dumbass. I’m twenty-one.”

Eren’s fat, ugly mouth opened and spilled out a common phrase that Levi’s had to deal with many times throughout his life, “You don’t look it.” Narrowing his eyes at the kid across from him, Levi’s eyebrow twitched in annoyance, clearly peeved with Eren’s comment.

Oblivious to Levi’s anger, too caught up in the sound of sirens coming from outside, Eren motioned for Levi to continue, eyes glued to the window as the bright lights of an ambulance sped by, no doubt waiting for Levi to ask the next question. Levi’s shoulders relaxed as he realized that Eren didn’t say the comment to be mean, like the majority of people who ask that question are. He’s just an idiot who spoke before he thought.

“Have any siblings?”

After a minute of complete silence with Eren staring off into space and seemingly lost in his thoughts, Levi blinked and added in a mocking voice, “What, did your brain malfunction? It’s a yes or no question, not that hard.”

Snapping back to reality, Eren blinked rapidly and looked at Levi, confused for a second before his mouth formed an ‘o’ and he laughed a little, “Oh, sorry. I was just thinking about if I’d classify my… well Mikasa as my sister since she’s lived with me my whole life but we’re not blood related and she was never officially adopted. Eh, I guess she’s my sister. I mean she’s seen my-“ Eren abruptly stopped talking, staring wide eyed at Levi as he stumbled over his words. “She’s s-seen my homework and… stuff.”

Giving Eren a loaded look, Levi smirked, amused, “So you’re not-so-much sister has seen your dick, eh? That doesn’t sound like a sisterly thing to me.”

Clenching his hands and sitting up in anger, Eren raises his voice, “It was one time and it was an accident but she acted like nothing was wrong and told me that breakfast was ready.”

“Listen, I’m all for awkward situations but I really don’t want to hear about you wanking and your sister catching you in the act. You know, maybe she acted like nothing was wrong because she didn’t see anything, cause that’s how tiny your shlong is.”

“W-What?” Eren sputtered and shook his head, “My dick isn’t-“

“Eren, there’s no need for you to be so defensive. You can’t help your dick size,” Levi continued over Eren, smirking.

Fuming, Eren got up from his seat and walked back to the counter, a venomous, “Fuck you,” thrown over his shoulder as one of the girls that sat at the table across the room got up to order something else.

Eren stayed glued to his spot behind the counter even after the girls had left.

Satisfied, and albeit a little guilty, Levi resumed his place where he left off in his English textbook, glad for the peace and quiet now that the loud-mouthed barista had left him alone. As he read, the heated glare coming from behind the counter continued to bore into him until he finally left the café at two in the morning.

A part of him almost regretted making Eren mad but then again, Levi was never good with people.

_The next night_

The thud of a coffee cup being placed onto the table roused Levi from his sleep. Snapping into an upright position, Levi squinted at the blurry figure in front of him, eyes crusty and foggy. “The hell?” His voice was rough with sleep and when he drew a hand across his mouth, he wiped away the drool that had accumulated on his chin.

“Drink up.”

Rubbing his eyes, Levi glared up at Eren, annoyed that the one time he had managed to fall asleep had been interrupted. Glancing at the time on his phone, he groaned loudly and realized that he had only been sleeping at the café for about twenty minutes. “What the fuck, kid. I was trying to sleep.”

The scrap of a chair being pulled back made Levi wince and he glared again at Eren as the kid sat down across from him, his eyebrows drawn together in contempt. “You were snoring so my boss told me to wake you up.”

Cursing his sleeping habits, he waved a hand towards Eren, “And your boss also told you to get comfortable and invade my personal bubble?”

“Levi, there’s a table in between us how am I invading your personal bubble?”

Running a hand down his face, Levi groaned and stared tiredly at Eren, “My personal bubble has a three foot radius.” Glaring at the coffee that was steaming in front of him, Levi succumbed to the near-sexual fantasy of caffeine and took a cautious sip, silently pleased to know it was his usual.

Ignoring Levi’s comment, Eren glanced over his shoulder, “And yes, my boss told me that I should sit with you and make sure you won’t fall asleep again and, I quote, ‘scare away the customers with his grizzly-like noises.’”

Grumbling about how his snoring wasn’t that loud, Levi cursed Erwin for sending Eren of all people to wake him up. “Alright, now I’m up, you can go now.” He made a shooing motion with his hands, irritable from being woken up in such a way and so suddenly. Not that how he was acting now wasn’t any different than how he usually acted.

Running a hand through his hair, Levi leaned back against the chair he sat in, eyes closing as he yawned. Scratching his cheek, Levi glanced up to see Eren still sitting across from him, his stupidly luminous eyes watching Levi like a hawk.

“What?”

Leaning across the table with an impassive expression, Eren reached a hand out towards Levi’s face, the pad of his finger rubbing against the middle of Levi’s forehead. Retracting his arm, Eren looked off to the side, avoiding Levi’s incredulous stare as he murmured casually, “You had a dirt smudge.”

Blaming Eren’s weird behavior on the fact that he must have been dropped as a child, Levi sighed and dragged his backpack onto the table so that he could start to study. Pulling his history textbook from his bag, he flipped open to a page and hunched over the text, settling himself in for a long night of dates and names of people he’d hopefully forget after the exam.

After about ten minutes, Levi blinked and looked up, confused to see that Eren was still sitting across from him and was staring at him intently. Raising an eyebrow, Levi lifted his book so that it shielded Eren’s gaze from being able to look at Levi. “If you’re going to stare, you might as well help me out while doing so,” he said offhandedly from behind the book, almost embarrassed by the scrutiny.

A giant hand broke Levi’s concentration as Eren pulled the book down with an irritated expression and Levi released a loud sigh. Eren’s brow furrowed as he swiveled the book so it was facing him, eyes scanning the information quickly before glancing up at Levi with a dumbfounded look, “This looks foreign to me.”

Groaning in agitation, Levi snatched the textbook back and shoved it into his bag, instead pulling out a deck of notecards, “Then help me study these notecards.”

Cracking his knuckles, Eren grabbed the notecards and started to help Levi study, sometimes coming up with weird sayings and connections to help Levi remember for the ones he had trouble remembering.

Thirty minutes passed before Levi got irritated with the notecards and demanded in a low tone, “Don’t you have to get back to working?”

Eren set down the cards he was holding onto the table with a shrug, “I don’t start my shift until ten and it’s only nine thirty.”

Levi blinked at Eren, confusion flowing through him as he tried to piece together Eren’s explanation, “So… Erwin just saw you here and randomly asked you to wake me up? Why the fuck would he do that?” Throwing a glance at the man behind the counter who was helping a customer, Levi narrowed his eyes, knowing that the man knew he was staring at him by the way Erwin was pointedly looking away from where Levi sat.

Scoffing under his breath at Erwin, Levi ran a hand through his hair as he lazily pulled his attention towards the brunette across from him, finally noticing that he wasn’t acting his usual chipper self. “What’s wrong?”

Startled eyes glanced at Levi, lips forming in a frown as Eren shifted in his seat, shrugging noncommittally, “Nothing…” The way Eren’s eyes shifted around Levi, not actually meeting his eyes but staring behind him, led Levi to think that Eren was lying.

Levi shrugged, not interested enough to pry any further.

As Levi lifted his cup to take another sip, Eren huffed and opened his mouth, words spilling from his mouth, “It’s just, my dick isn’t small.”

Staring at Eren over the rim of his cup, Levi wondered briefly how he could high tail it out of the café without Erwin bitching a fit about not paying for his coffee. Sighing, Levi placed his cup onto the table, regarding Eren with an annoyed expression, “You’re not still mad about my comment from last night, right?”

Perturbed, Eren crossed his arms and looked off to the side, avoiding eye contact, “Well, what if I am?”

Rubbing his temples, Levi tapped his foot, agitated, “Listen, kid. I was just joking, no need to get your thong in a bunch.” Eren still didn’t look placated so Levi swallowed thickly and grimaced, awkwardly looking away, “Why don’t we… uh continue that game we were playing last night?”

Like a lost puppy, Eren sat upright, eyes wide and shinning as he nodded his head. Realizing he looked foolish, Eren deflated and scratched the back of his head, looking shy for the first time since Levi had met him, “Um, I mean if you want too.”

“Didn’t I suggest it? Okay, so whose turn is it to go?” Levi lazily glanced around the café, feigning indifference.

Eren perked up again, eyes sparkling disgustingly like that one Jesus star that always twinkled like a fairy at night, “Mine, so-“

They kept asking questions until finally it was time for Eren to clock in and he disappeared behind a door with a sign on it that read ‘Employees Only’ in overly fancy cursive. While Eren worked, Levi cracked open his textbook and resumed his studying. As he studied he found himself being able to remember different facts that he’d had trouble with before Eren had helped him earlier.

Frowning, Levi scratched the back of his head and looked up from his textbook to glance at Eren who was behind the counter, smiling as he chatted with a customer. All the times that Levi had been in this café, he had never actually taken notice of Eren. He’d always walked into the café, ordered his drink, and sat down in one of the plush chairs in the middle of the seating area.

Until Eren had struck up a conversation and had actually kept it up. Levi realized that Eren was far more attractive than he was. Why was he only realizing that Eren looked like one of those Greek gods who had sex with one another all the time? Levi had never thought much of his sexuality since he sold his soul to his studies a long time ago and attraction was only something that belonged with a quick fuck to relieve a pestering itch that roared its head every once in a while.

Surprisingly, Levi found that he didn’t mind knowing about Eren and how his left eye never fully opened like his right one did. Or how Eren has the bad habit of stumbling over his speech whenever he got excitable. Oddly, Levi found it him extremely cute.

Levi was never for attachments, but he found that Eren wasn’t someone who he’d be against spending a little more time with. At least, considering the small amount of time that they had already shared. Nothing to serious.

He doesn’t know. Everything’s jumbled and a mess.

“Hey, did you know that you’ve been staring at me for the past ten minutes?” Eren walked up to Levi, Levi’s eyes focusing on him. The brunette peered down at Levi with a raised eyebrow, “Not that I mind, just considering how you are, I thought I’d pull you out of whatever inner monologue is going on inside that pretty little head of yours.”

Eyes narrowing, Levi looked off to the side and shrugged, “Sorry, didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

Relaxed laughter escaped Eren and he shook his head, “Nah, it’s fine. Like I said, I don’t mind.” Levi glanced up at Eren and paused, blinking up at him as he realized that the curl of Eren’s lips could be taken as flirtatious. Tensing, Levi looked down at the book in his lap, hiding the fact that his cheeks were now a soft pink.

Levi cleared his throat and shrugged, “Yeah whatever.”

With a grin, Eren returned back to his post behind the counter, eyes flicking over toward Levi every now and then despite Levi’s obvious refusal to glance in Eren’s general direction. As Levi pointedly ignored Eren, he accepted the fact that he might be a little bit in _like_ with Eren.

Not being able to hold himself back, Levi flicked his eyes towards Eren, embarrassed to see that the kid was already staring at him and had the gall to wave at him with a cheeky grin that made Levi’s stomach do annoying things and his cheeks definitely heat up an unflattering red.

It wasn’t until an hour later when the graveyard shift started and Levi was the only costumer in the café that Eren left his spot behind the counter and took a seat across from Levi, lips curled into that disgustingly flirty grin and eyes shining with _something_ despite the low light.

They continued from where they left off at in their question game and Eren went into a long spiel about how his mother always told him to wash behind his ears but because he was a stubborn shithead, he didn’t listen and only started to actually wash behind his ears a couple of years ago.

Behind the disgusted scowl from Eren’s confession, Levi’s insides were wiggling around, all mushy and not where they were supposed to be. Levi might have denied that he found himself enjoying being with Eren and playing their stupid question game in the dead of the night but Levi was an adult and it was time that he accepted that maybe Eren sort of _like_ liked him too and that his previous belief of enjoying the crippling loneliness that accompanied him everywhere he went was nothing but a stubborn refusal to accept that Levi just wasn’t as likable as everyone else.

Levi’s cold, black heart hoped that their question game would never end because for the first time, Levi didn’t feel small and insignificant like he usually did. And it was a sort of sweet feeling.


End file.
